By Simon Ngena
ZIMBABWE has played host to a galaxy of international acts in the last 45 years across all genres ranging from rhumba to reggae, gospel to mbaqanga, amapiano to pantsula; from Akon to Zahara, Bob Marley to Burna Boy, Paul Simon to Sean Paul, among others. But it has not all been one-way traffic because the cream of local artistes have also made a name for themselves abroad. These include the legendary Oliver Mtukudzi, Jah Prayzah, Ambuya Stella Chiweshe, Alick Macheso, Thomas Mapfumo, Hope Masike, and lately Mokoomba, who hail from Chinotimba high-density suburb, Victoria Falls.
The five-member ensemble comprises Mathias Muzaza (lead vocals, percussion); Trustworth Samende (guitar, backing vocals); Abundance Mutori (bass, backing vocals); Donald Moyo (keyboard, backing vocals); Ndaba Coster Moyo (drums, backing vocals) and Miti Mugande (percussion, backing vocals).
Singing in a number of languages including English, Luvale, Tonga, Nyanja, Ndebele and Shona, the group takes its name from a Tonga word that connotes deep respect for the mighty Zambezi River and the vibrant life along its banks.
Mokoomba combine traditional and modern instruments and a variety of international pop and pan-African styles — including soukous, funk and reggae — to bring together different cultures from Southern, East and Central Africa.
The afro-fusion group has toured widely, and won critical praise at home and abroad. The Guardian’s Robin Denslow called Mokoomba “the best young band in Zimbabwe”, while Afropop World Wide’s Banning Eyre described them as “quite simply the most impressive band Zimbabwe has produced in recent memory”. Jon Pareles of The New York Times called lead singer Mathias Muzaza’s vocal range ‘riveting’ and ‘griot-strength’. A leading local musician, Issac Chirwa, praised Mokoomba as ‘Zimbabwe’s best band’ in an interview with a local newspaper.
Formed between 2002 and 2007, the group began its professional career in 2008. Their performance at the Music Crossroads InterRegional Festival (IRF) in Lilongwe, Malawi, won them a European tour and they recorded their first album with six titles, Kweseka.
Their songs deal with Zimbabwean life, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and social ills, with a substantive message to keep hoping. Their 2009 tour was a success in major European cities such as Stockholm, Brussels, Oslo, Barcelona, Bilbao and Amsterdam, leading to a new tour in 2010 across Europe. Other festivals include the Colours of Ostrava Festival in the Czech Republic, the Couleur Café Festival in Brussels, the Meyouzik Festival in Luxembourg, the Pirineos Festival in Spain, and the Afrika Festival Hertme in the Netherlands.
Mokoomba made their maiden performance at the now defunct Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in 2013 and won critical acclaim at home with more recent releases and concerts.
Their second album Rising Tide, produced by the Ivorian singer Manou Gallo, was very well received by the public and the critics, and was nominated in the Songlines Music Award 2013 in the ‘Revelation’ category, awarded by Songlines magazine. Mokoomba also made their UK television debut in October, 2012, performing songs from Rising Tide.
After the release of Rising Tide, Mokoomba toured in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, including performances at the Couleur Cafe, Gnaoua World Music Festival, Paléo Festival, Roskilde Festival, Sziget Festival, WOMAD festival, Gwanju World Music Festival in South Korea, and the Africa Now! festival at The Apollo Theatre in New York City.
In February 2017, Mokoomba released its self-produced third album Luyando on Germany’s OutHere label, a stripped-down, mostly acoustic album that took their sound in a new direction.That same month Mokoomba made the cover of UK world music magazine Songlines.
‘Luyando’ means mother’s love the Tonga language. Songs on Luyando explore the vanishing traditions of Tonga and Luvale society. In 2017 Mokoomba toured Luyando internationally, making stops at the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Los Angeles, The Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC, Norway’s Førde Festival, Canada’s Edmonton Folk Festival and the Nuits d’Afrique festival in Montreal, Canada.
In March, 2018 Mokoomba made their debut at the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. In April, Mokoomba was nominated for a Songlines Award by the readers and editors of the UK’s Longlines magazine. Mokoomba was nominated in the ‘Best Group’ category — their second nomination after taking home the ‘Best Newcomer Award’ in 2013.
In May, 2018 Mokoomba was inducted into the Afropop Worldwide Hall of Fame at a ceremony honouring the 30th anniversary of Peabody Award Winning media organisation Afropop Worldwide. Previous honorees include King Sunny Ade, Youssou N’Dour, Oumou Sangaré, Angelique Kidjo, as well as Zimbabwe’s own Oliver Mtukudzi (now late) and Thomas Mapfumo. On September 8, 2018, Mokoomba performed at the Lollapalooza Festival in Berlin,Germany, as part of a bill topped by Canadian pop star The Weeknd.
In 2010, Mokoomba was the subject of the documentary film Mokoomba: From One River Bank to Another by Frank Dalmat and Francis Ducat.
Mutori was just 14 when he began playing with the other band members during their schooldays at Mosi-Oa-Tunya High in the premier resort town of Victoria Falls, on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and he remembers that their biggest problem was getting hold of instruments.
“We didn’t have our own, and even at school when we had a music class we didn’t have any guitars or keyboards,” he says. “But my Dad used to play in church and had a bass guitar at home, and it was him who first showed me how to play it. From then on, I was practising by myself or jamming with the guys.”
Now, in their late 30s, Mokoomba are being feted as Africa’s most internationally successful young band after a rise that is as deserved as it has been remarkable. Below are samples of some rave reviews from abroad:
Mokoomba: “One of the top 10 bands out of Africa.”
“The best young band in Zimbabwe”
— The Guardian, UK.
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“I’ve seen the future of Afrosound and it is called Mokoomba.” — RBB
Despite overseas rave reviews, Mokoomba remain relatively unknown at home, most probably because they sing in Tonga, a minority language spoken mostly in the tourist border town and across the Zambezi River in neighbouring Zambia. You will not hear Mokoomba playing at the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex, Bulawayo’s Large City Hall or Mutare’s Beit Hall, etc. In fact, the only time this writer watched these extremely talented musicians play at home was at Harare’s Alliance Francaise.
Talk about a prophet getting no honour in his own country.